Steve Bruce says star striker Jonathan Kodjia is ‘weeks rather than months’ away from a return to the Aston Villa fold.

The 27-year-old striker suffered a broken ankle in the penultimate game of last season at Blackburn Rovers and Bruce feared he would be without him for up to six months.

But it now looks as though Kodjia will return to Villa’s attack sooner rather than later. Bruce said: “Kodjia had a pretty serious one so we will have to box clever. But he is on the road to recovery. I would think it is going to be weeks rather than months.”